


Oxblood

by 15_legs



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Character Death, Disembowlment, Gen, Gore, Pre-Canon, Skinning, eventual enemies to chillin?, not angsty tho?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:14:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27131657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/15_legs/pseuds/15_legs
Summary: Theseus furrowed his brows. He was no stranger to field dressing; he had slain and hunted beasts and animals more than he could count. But this, he observed, was different. The minotaur was half man and half beast after all. No, upon closer inspection, he resembles more man than beast. Aside from his bovine head and the coarse hair covering his body, he was undeniably human-like.(throwdown in the labyrinth, but theseus only thinks about it very vaguely because he doesn't have enough braincells to fully process what happened)
Relationships: Asterius | The Minotaur/Theseus (Hades Video Game)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 45





	Oxblood

Upon regaining his breath, Theseus closed his eyes and let out a long exhale. It was over—the strangled body of the monster laid at his feet. He could feel the dark blood as it continued to gush from the body. Watched as it splashed over the hardened earth before soaking beneath the surface, turning it into a patch of glistening black. It's around midday at this point; the overhead sun blazes down, scorching Theseus's tanned body and causing the blood covering him to dry up. He rubbed at his arms and chest, trying to scrub off what he could of the blood that started to crust over his skin.

Theseus readjusted his grip on his shortsword and lowered himself to the ground. With effort, he flipped the minotaur on his back and leaned over him, running a hand through the matted and bloody hide. Theseus furrowed his brows. He was no stranger to field dressing; he had slain and hunted beasts and animals more than he could count. But this, he observed, was different. The minotaur was half man and half beast after all. No, upon closer inspection, he resembles more man than beast. Aside from his bovine head and the coarse hair covering his body, he was undeniably human-like.

As Theseus progressed into the labyrinth, he felt a deep rumble coming from deeper inside. He must be close, Theseus thought as he continued to unwind the ball of yarn in his hands. As he approaches the clearing, he starts to hear voices whispering. Upon more focus, it seemed to be a single voice, speaking in different tones—all spoken at a low, raspy volume. Then, the voice suddenly stopped. He turns a corner and enters the chamber, immediately greeted by a flash of blinding light. As his eyes adjust, his stomach churned. Crushed bones and skulls are strewn all around the earthen floors of the room. Human. They gleamed under the sun, bleached white by its harsh rays. Theseus looked around, but the minotaur was nowhere to be found. Standing at the center of the room, he felt vulnerable, a rare feeling for the prideful prince.

Theseus placed a few calculated cuts across the minotaur's body. The blade of his sharp sword slid cleanly through the beast's abdomen, through his tissues and lean muscles. He slipped his hands beneath the incision and spread it wide, revealing the milky peritoneum underneath. He cut that too and plunged his hands even deeper, feeling the slowly dissipating warmth of the carcass between his fingers. With a single pull, the digestive tract slopped out. Intestines sprawled out upon the ground, writhing as they sought to settle down amid their own slick moisture. Even the beast's organs resemble human proportions, he noted, mind wandering briefly to the fields of war. Oddly enough, Theseus felt no glory in dissecting in the minotaur. He needed proof of the deed lest King Minos sends more Athenian youths down to the labyrinth in vain. He could have simply beheaded the creature, but it felt... Wrong. It wouldn't provide the closure he needed, whatever that was. So he decided to bring back the hide. Theseus fell into thought as he worked, settling into a pace and ignoring the shards of bones that dug into his knees.

The center of the labyrinth had many paths that opened into it, which made sense, given its complex structure. There must have been countless amounts of dead ends here. Theseus wondered where the minotaur had gone. He hadn't known what to expect, but getting stood up by a monster he was supposed to slay was not it. He looked at the corridors in front of him, wondering which one the beast would return from. Theseus stood tall and puffed out his chest.

"Bull of Minos, show yourself! I am Theseus. Son of Aegeus, hero of Athens. I have come to slay you!" he shouted into the void.

There was no response. Theseus looked around again, unsure of what to do. He wasn't about to run blindly into the corridors, though; he didn't have enough yarn for that. He lingered for a moment longer before dropping the remaining yarn in a corner. Then he moved to stand in a shady area cast from the towering walls. Although it was still early in the morning, the walls prevented cool air from blowing inside, so heat built up quickly in the labyrinth. Suddenly, the rumbling resumed.

A few more cuts later, the hide was mostly separated from the rest of the gore. Theseus pulled it out from under the mass and began to flesh it, at least, to the best of his abilities, given his limited supplies. He spread it out on the ground and kneeled over it, pinning it to the floor. With one hand, he pulled at the hide in tension. With the other, he picked up his blade again and started scraping away the remaining meat. He worked in sections, repositioning himself over time. His breath grew ragged, and his sword dulled quickly from the work, but Theseus had already committed to the task, so he gripped tighter and continued. He wasn't sure why this mattered so much, couldn't quite formulate it in words. He wasn't sure he would ever have a real answer.

The minotaur stepped into the chamber through the hall right next to the wall Theseus had been leaning on. He was holding the length of a femur and swung his arm, shattering it against the wall. Theseus snapped to attention and backed away warily. The beast was massive, towering above Theseus. His famished musculature covered thickly with dark hair. His mane long and unruly. His head... It was almost identical to the Cretan bull he had captured a while ago, except that his maw was matted in blood. Pieces of flesh were still stuck within the hairs. Theseus's eyes moved even higher, to the bull's horns. They stood tall and mangled, almost as if malformed from running into walls in fits of rage. The horns were sharp and surprisingly pristine other than being covered in dust, though Theseus then realized that the beast was probably too tall to gore anyone with the horns.

The monster opened his mouth and made similar sounds to what Theseus had heard earlier on his way inside.

"Gods..Where.... Save me.... Save us... Ah... Ah! Ah!"

The beast could speak! Though, as Theseus struggled to parse the words, he quickly realized that they weren't conversational. He seems to be repeating the cries of help from those forsaken within the halls of the labyrinth. The monster's intonation mimics the screams and cries and fear and desperation of the victims. Like a bull-shaped parrot. Or, a bull-man shaped parrot. Does the monster understand what he is saying? Theseus wondered how long the monster had been stranded in here. But then again, there's no way to find out, and the implications were frankly more than a little disturbing.

The beast glared at him but had not yet made a move. That being said, the glare was far from friendly intent. Hunger flashed in his eyes. Theseus stood alert, but his bravado quickly faltered. He had no audience watching him, so he chose to forego his theatrics in favor of focusing on the inevitable battle. Theseus stared right into the minotaur's eyes and recited his earlier speech, but slower, and at a lower volume: "Bull of Minos, I am Theseus. Son of Aegeus, hero of Athens. I have come to slay you."

The beast pawed at the ground, kicking up some scattered bone shards. "Asterius," he strained, then again, louder. "Asterius!"

Theseus wondered if there would be more, but the beast ceased to speak. Was this an attempt at conversation? He briefly speculated on who this "Asterius" is. Was it a name on the lips of another dying victim? The name of their family member? A lover? Or, Theseus pushed the thought to the back of his mind, was it the monster's name? A motion stirred Theseus from his thoughts. The minotaur's nostrils flared, and he lowered his head. Suddenly, he charged forward, and Theseus braced himself.

Theseus leaned back to inspect his work. He felt that he should do something to give the minotaur some sort of a dignified death. But seeing as he's woefully unequipped, he couldn't quite do much else. He had no shovel, so he could not bury the remains. Slamming the hilt of his sword into the ground in futile attempts to gouge the earth bore no real results. Finally, He grabbed thick fistfuls of the minotaur's viscera and dragged them across the chamber. He cut up the flesh and placed them as well. Perhaps vultures could find their next meal here, and the cycle of life would continue. Then, Theseus picked up the hide and draped it across his own body like a cowl despite the heat. Fumbling a bit, he found the remaining yarn and started winding it back up, returning to the surface for good.

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write about long hair Theseus in the hall portrait cutting his hair, but boom! I thought too hard about it and now it's probably going to end up being an enemies to chillin' fic?? Also, only the first chapter is going to be Like This lol. I was thinking about how Asterius says that Zagreus would never understand their relationship and then overthought abt it 😔. I like to think that even they can't 100% put it into words what they saw in each other.  
> @15_legs on twitt too, peace✌️


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